and
Queensland
Education in Australia
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Public Education Costs in Australia
In Australia the Government provides a FREE State operated education system, and they also subsidise a very large Private Education system. However, in 2003, about 32% of all School Children in Australia went to Private/Independent schools.
Although State Schools are classed as free education, Voluntary Contributions of about $60 per child per year are normally expected, and asked for, by every school.
Each child has to supply their own stationery, for which a list is provided detailing exactly what is required each year. The cost of this can be between $100 and $200 each year.
State school uniforms can be from around $200 upwards.
Education Comparison between UK and Australia
A common comment is that the primary education is different here in Australia when compared to the UK. A number of people have said that children here are allowed to be children for longer, no real pressure on direct learning, but lots of encouragement in learning to learn and enjoying school. More involvement in school and class dramas, plays etc. Learning to be social etc. As a direct age comparison, I have read that UK children are further ahead academically, but that Australian children are more ahead in being a person. This can change when they move to High School, and by the end of their schooling, it seems to even itself out. One thing I do know, is that the majority of primary school kids here just love to go to school, which is very different to my school days :)
The following are quotes from a retired Teacher at various Australian State Schools:
All State schools in Australia are free.
State schools (primary and secondary) seek a voluntary contribution from parents, voluntary being the operative word, parents do NOT have to pay it; but most do.
There are nominal fees for 'excursions' but it is not compulsory for children to attend excursions.
The wearing of uniforms in state schools is not compulsory, but some schools insist, it is easier to comply.
If parents elect to send their children to private schools for religious or other reasons; such as keeping them away from the sort of people who attend State schools, that is up to them.
The quality and culture of State schools varies enormously, to say the least. The best of them are just as good as private schools, and are better at preparing students for tertiary studies.
What happens at home is far more important than what happens at school.
World rankings for Reading, Maths and Science 2007
An article in the Daily Telegraph in December 2007 showed the rankings of 57 countries in the subjects of Reading, Maths & Science.
In Reading, the UK was position 17, with Australia at position 7
In Maths, the UK was position 24, and Australia at position 13
In Science, the UK was position 14, and Australia at position 8.
The data comes from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There is another article also at the Daily Telegraph with more information.
Private School Fees can start from about $600 per year, rising to $20,000+ per year, but some common figures are between $3,000 and $6,000 per year.
Education in Australia is administered by the State Governments, NOT by the Federal Government, therefore you will find that each State may have different Holidays and other rules etc etc.
(Even different styles of Handwriting to be learnt in Junior School)
eg: NSW
and
Queensland
Visit http://www.schoolfonts.com.au for further details.
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
NSW - http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/primary/startingschool.php
Children may enter Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year in NSW government schools if they turn five on or before 31 July in that year. Some gifted or talented children may be ready to start school at an earlier age while others may benefit from being a little older. By law, all children must start school by their sixth birthday.
Temporary Visa Holders:
NSW - Most students who hold a Temporary Resident Visa must pay a Temporary Visa Holders Education Fee and Administration Fee for enrolment in a NSW Government School. 2008 Annual Fees were: Primary school Years K-6 $4,500, Junior high school Years 7–10 $4,500, Senior high school Years 11–12 $5,500. Current Fee Details are available at: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/intnl_students/tempvisaholder/index.php
The SIR, Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) Visa Subclass 495, may have different conditions. NSW for example allows Free education under this visa class
OVERSEAS EDUCATION
Equivalent Qualifications
A Statement of Equivalent Qualification can be issued to people who have educational qualifications from overseas that are judged by the Authority to be equivalent to Year 11 or Year 12 level.
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
Queensland - http://education.qld.gov.au
New Rules here - http://education.qld.gov.au/etrf/faq-prep.html#Q2
also, information on the Preparatory School changes from 2007 http://education.qld.gov.au/etrf/prep.html and
When can children enrol in the Preparatory Year and Year 1
Preschool: Children must be four years old by the last day of December to attend a state preschool the following January. In certain cases, younger children who have been enrolled in a school in another State or country may be exempted. A child's name can be placed on a waiting list at the local state preschool during the year the child turns three. Preschool waiting lists are opened in March each year. Proof of the child's date of birth, such as a birth certificate, passport or visa, is required at the enrolment interview.
Preschool will continue until the end of 2006 and the current age requirements will remain unchanged that is, children need to be five by 31 December in the year they start preschool.
Preschool from 2007: Children born on or after 1 January 2002 will be eligible for the new preparatory year of schooling before enrolling in Year 1. They must be five by 30 June in the year they begin the preparatory year.
Children born between 1 January and 31 December 2001, including those who complete preschool in 2006, will enrol in Year 1 in 2007.
Primary: To be enrolled in Year 1 in January, children must be five years old by the end of the previous year. Under special circumstances, children may be enrolled at a younger age. Parents may enrol a child in their local primary school by contacting the school directly. For a child entering Year 1, schools require proof of the child's date of birth, such as a birth certificate, passport or visa.
Secondary: Students are eligible to enter the first year of secondary school, Year 8, after completing seven years of primary education. Parents may enrol a child in their local secondary school by contacting the school directly.
Leaving School:
Queensland school leaving information:
Starting from 2006, a new 'compulsory participation' requirement means that all young people must participate in 'Learning or Earning':
- for two years after they complete compulsory schooling (i.e. completed year 10 or turned 16 years of age) or
- until they turn 17 years of age or
- until they complete a Queensland Certificate of Education or a Certificate III (or higher level) vocational qualification.
More Details at: http://education.qld.gov.au/etrf/senior.html
OP's (Overall Position Score)
For the 2005 year the following numbers of students were allocated OP's as follows:
OP1 656 OP6 1,181 OP11 1,408 OP16 1,360 OP21 936 OP2 801 OP7 1,306 OP12 1,456 OP17 1,347 OP22 712 OP3 876 OP8 1,385 OP13 1,502 OP18 1,240 OP23 593 OP4 1,045 OP9 1,408 OP14 1,549 OP19 1,148 OP24 397 OP5 1,180 OP10 1,428 OP15 1,418 OP20 1,031 OP25 280 Overall Positions, or OPs, provide a statewide rank order of students (on a 1 to 25 scale, 1 being the highest) based on students’ achievement in Authority subjects studied for the Queensland Senior Certificate. A student’s OP shows how well that student has performed in their senior studies when compared with the performances of all other OP-eligible students in Queensland.
OPs are used in the selection of students for tertiary education courses. They are used by tertiary education institutions as one basis for selecting applicants for a course when there are more eligible applicants than quota places for that course.
LINKS - QLD
Queensland Schools Directory - Information on the directory includes contact details, school type, enrolment numbers, regional and district sectors, types of students catered for and sport regions.
Gifted Education In Queensland - a guide for parents of intellectually gifted children living in Queensland, Australia, who are seeking an appropriate education for their child
School Reporting in QLD - After listening to the views of school communities and others around the state, the Queensland Government has decided to make important changes to the way school and student performance is reported to parents and are implementing new reporting requirements in 2005 and 2006
Temporary Visa Holders: School Fees on 457 Visa
QLD - In QLD people on temporary 'resident' visas (and their dependant family members) generally pay the same fees as Australian students for government-funded schooling. TAFE can be much more expensive on a Temp Visa though.
Quote: "The school-aged dependants of permanent resident, business skills, provisional and temporary resident visa holders are generally able to access mainstream schooling without the need to pay tuition fees. Persons who are intending to travel to Queensland with school-aged dependants are advised to contact Education Queensland International to check whether tuition fees will be required". Source: http://education.qld.gov.au/marketing/eqi/programs/visainfo.html
School age children entering Australia on a tourist or visitor visa are permitted to attend Queensland government schools on a fee-paying basis for a period up to 12 weeks. Source: http://education.qld.gov.au/marketing/eqi/programs/visitorvisa.html
OVERSEAS EDUCATION
Equivalent Qualifications
A Statement of Equivalent Qualification can be issued to people who have educational qualifications from overseas that are judged by the Authority to be equivalent to Year 11 or Year 12 level.
Costs (as at June 2005)
QLD $36.00 (5 working days)
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
South Australia
Temporary Visa Holders:
SA - Dependants whose parents are holding 'temporary resident visas generally are permitted to enrol in any primary or secondary school on the same conditions as Australian students and permanent residents for as long as their parents remain in Australia with Temporary Resident status. http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/docs/files/docman/AIG_Section3.doc
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
Victoria - http://www.det.vic.gov.au
Government schools welcome enrolments for children who turn five years of age by April 30 of the year in which they start school. Children between the age of six and 15 years must attend school.
OVERSEAS EDUCATION
Equivalent Qualifications
A Statement of Equivalent Qualification can be issued to people who have educational qualifications from overseas that are judged by the Authority to be equivalent to Year 11 or Year 12 level.
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
School Performance Tables
Starting School in WA - http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/parents.asp and
http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/ece/Australia.html
Compulsory Schooling
Schooling is compulsory for children from the beginning of the school year in which they turn 6 years and 6 months, in accordance with the School Education Act, 1999. For most children this will be the year they enter Year One.
Kindergarten programs are available to children who have turned/will turn four by the 30th June in any given year. Kindergarten programs run for the equivalent of four half days. Kindergarten programs are structured differently within individual government schools. They may therefore also be offered as two full days, or one full day and two half days.
Pre-Primary programs are available to children who have turned/will turn five by 30th June in any given year. Pre-Primary programs run for five full days
Children born 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001:
Begin kindergarten at the start of school year in Feb 2005.
Begin pre-primary at the start of school year in Feb 2006
Begin Year 1 at the start of school year in Feb 2007
Begin Year 2 at the start of school year in Feb 2008
Children born 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002:
Begin kindergarten at the start of school year in Feb 2006
Begin pre-primary at the start of school year in Feb 2007
Begin Year 1 at the start of school year in Feb 2008
Begin Year 2 at the start of school year in Feb 2009
Children born 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003:
Begin kindergarten at the start of school year in Feb 2007
Begin pre-primary at the start of school year in Feb 2008
Begin Year 1 at the start of school year in Feb 2009
Begin Year 2 at the start of school year in Feb 2010
Children born 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004:
Begin kindergarten at the start of school year in Feb 2008
Begin pre-primary at the start of school year in Feb 2009
Begin Year 1 at the start of school year in Feb 2010
Begin Year 2 at the start of school year in Feb 2011
Children born 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005:
Begin kindergarten at the start of school year in Feb 2009
Begin pre-primary at the start of school year in Feb 2010
Begin Year 1 at the start of school year in Feb 2011
Begin Year 2 at the start of school year in Feb 2012
Children born 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006:
Begin kindergarten at the start of school year in Feb 2010
Begin pre-primary at the start of school year in Feb 2011
Begin Year 1 at the start of school year in Feb 2012
Begin Year 2 at the start of school year in Feb 2013
Temporary Visa Holders: (School Fees on a 457 Visa, Long Stay)
WA - In WA people on temporary resident visas (and their dependant family members) generally pay the same fees as Australian students for government-funded schooling.
Holders of the 457 Visa (Business [long stay] up to 4 years) are entitled to be enrolled in a government school under normal enrolment conditions. A full list of Visa classes that this applies to can be found on page 17 of this pdf file.
Holders of the 456 business (short stay) do pay school fees, as do other on this list of Visa Holders for WA. www.eti.wa.edu.au
Useful Websites
Some useful websites for school information
University
HECS Help - HECS-HELP is a loan available to eligible students enrolled in Commonwealth supported places. A HECS-HELP loan will cover all or part of the student contribution amount. You are eligible for HECS-HELP if you are a Commonwealth supported student and an Australian Citizen.
FEE-HELP - FEE-HELP is a loan given to eligible fee-paying students to help pay part or all of their tuition fees.
If you enrol in a unit of study as a fee-paying (non-Commonwealth supported) student:
you must pay full tuition fees for your studies
the Commonwealth does not contribute towards the cost of your education
you may be eligible for a FEE-HELP loan to help pay your tuition fees.
Enrolling your child for School
School opening hours during the school holidays.
Just because the children are not at school does not mean the school is closed. This may be useful to you if you arrive during school holidays, but want to check out schools for enrolling the next year etc.
An example for my school (2005 In QLD) is:
Last day of school for Children is Dec 2nd, but the office is open until Dec 16th.
The Office opens again on Jan 9th, but the children do not go back until Jan 23rd
The
Consequently, fees in NSW can vary between $4,000 and $6,000. In the ACT, it is even higher at between $9,000 and $14,000.
Details of Visa numbers and related conditions applying to enrolment in a NSW Government school can be found at www.schools.nsw.edu.au
The other States: Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia & the Northern Territory do allow temporary 457 visa holders the same subsidised education that Citizens and Permanent Residents receive.
School Types and Funding
Australian Full-Time Student Enrolments in 2003:
Government Schools - 2,254,632 - 68% of total
Independent & Catholic Schools - 1,063,988 - 32% of total (Independent - 403,397, Catholic - 660,591)
Government Funding to schools
Since the 1960's both the State & Federal governments have each provided funding to both State & Non-State schools across Australia.
These funding figures for 2001-2002 are about:
Federal Government provided about $ 5.4 billion
State Governments provided about $19.9 billion
Totalling $25.3 Billion, or about $7,623 per Australian student.
The State schools received $20.3 billion (79%) of this figure, an average of about $9,000 per student
The Independent/Catholic schools received $5 billion (21%), an average of about $4,700 per student
Individual Independent school funding is calculated based on the economics of the area. ie: Better off areas will receive less, per student, than deprived areas, and funding can vary immensely. Hence, school fees can vary between $600 per year, to $25/30,000 per year
These government contributions have led to an increase in Independent schools, and allowed more funding to be diverted to State schools on a per student basis.
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